Senator Patricia Van Pelt voted against Senate Bill 1 today. The pension plan failed by a vote of 16-42, Van Pelt released the following statement:

“There are no easy answers to a problem as large as the Illinois pension problem. We voted for fair, negotiated legislation earlier this month when the Senate passed Senate Bill 2404. We are talking about the livelihoods and pension futures of hardworking employees, and the drastic, non-negotiated cuts proposed in Senate Bill 1 are unacceptable.

“This proposed legislation violates the Illinois Constitution and could very well end up struck by the Illinois Supreme Court. In that case, this plan would save the state no money and we would be right back where we started. We already passed a fair, constitutional plan out of the Senate and that plan should be called for a vote in the House. ”